Darwinism In A Nutshell

Our Towns

Middletown

September 22, 2004

At first glance, the small black creature that emerged from brush beside a road in Middletown could have been a mink. But there was no mistaking the pointy ears, the upright posture and the signature bushy tail. This was a squirrel.

An eastern gray squirrel (sciurus carolinensis), to be exact. Only this one was coal black from nose to tail. Gray squirrels, it seems, have their color variants -- just the same as New England's blue lobster, British Columbia's white bear (actually a black bear) and the red ruffed grouse (normally gray).

Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, says his agency doesn't monitor black squirrels (endangered species, naturally, receive a higher priority). But he says there has been an increase in sightings of these animals over the last 20 years.

Connecticut may be on the tail of that trend. Black squirrels are mostly a northern phenomenon. In parts of Ontario and Quebec, their numbers are even greater than for their gray counterparts.

In Ohio, Kent State University has hosted a black squirrel festival since 1981. The first 10 squirrels were imported to the school from Canada in 1961; today, they're the main (four-legged) mammal on campus.

A University of Michigan website offers insight into why the black squirrel seems comfortable in colder climes. Studies show black squirrels retain 18 percent more body heat in temperatures below minus 10 degrees Celsius than gray squirrels. They also have a lower metabolic rate (which saves energy) and are better at generating body heat without shivering.

Genetics is Mother Nature's way of playing the slots. But there's nothing random about natural selection.